


A Ghost Story

by pennilesspoet



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Supernatural Elements, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:28:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25229848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennilesspoet/pseuds/pennilesspoet
Summary: Patrick starts seeing things go bump in the night.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 44
Kudos: 74





	A Ghost Story

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's not Halloween, but it's 2020, and time is meaningless, so here's a ghost story. It's fairly violent, so I upped the rating to M. 
> 
> This was prompted by the very recent discovery that my brother used to hear someone breathing in his room at night in a house we lived in as kids.

Patrick doesn’t believe in ghosts.

When they first started dating, Patrick would turn on shows like _Most Terrifying Places,_ and David would pretend to be scared, and they would cuddle up on Ray’s threadbare sofa or in Patrick’s bed with arms tight around each other, and nervous giggles into necks, and eventually, they would lose interest in the show altogether.

So when things start happening in their new house, Patrick barely gives it a second thought.

His mug isn’t where he remembers setting it? Clearly, he’s more tired than he thought. Kitchen cabinet left open? Probably David, looking for a snack. 

Some things, like the water in the bathroom sink being left on, are a bit more confusing.

As their business picks up, they hire more staff to help at the store and divide up the other tasks so that they have some more free time to begin working on the house. The first time David is out for the day - doing vendor pickups, and meeting a potential new vendor near Elmdale, Patrick begins one of his first projects; tearing out the “offensive” (David’s word) carpet in what will become their guest bedroom. [Originally, the guest bedroom had been farther down on Patrick’s to-do list, but after seeing how sad David sometimes gets when he remembers that his family is no longer in Schitt’s Creek, he decided that the best way to entice one of the Roses to come back for a visit was to create an inviting space for them. The room got pushed up the list, and David was so happy about it, Patrick had to invest in a scarf to effectively cover the “celebratory” (David’s word) hickeys.]

The carpet is a muted, dusty rose, and smells a little bit like cigarette smoke. Patrick is able to get the first half of the room done relatively quickly, but the carpet on the north end of the room is stubbornly sticky. He decides that he might need to use a scraper to get under the carpet. As he heads down the stairs to get the tool, the bedroom door slams shut, causing Patrick to jump. Figuring that the wind must have caught on the door (he’d opened the bedroom window earlier), he shrugs it off and continues down the stairs.

When he comes back, the door is locked, which is odd, because this particular door doesn’t have a lock on it. Perhaps it sticks? He’ll have to take a look at it. He can’t imagine what would happen if his mother-in-law inadvertently became trapped in this room. He pushes on the door using a bit more force, but it doesn’t budge. Steeling himself, he wraps his hand around the doorknob and turns to shoulder into the door. This time, the door gives immediately, and Patrick’s momentum sends him careening into the room, and onto the floor. Annoyed, he stands, dusts himself off, and props the door open until he has a chance to look at it.

**~@~**

It’s Thursday, which is the day David works at the store with their new staff person Maureen, and it’s been about three weeks since the incident in the guest room. In that time, Patrick has managed to replace the carpet with the hardwood flooring that they will eventually use in the rest of the house and has painted the walls a soft (David-approved) grey-green. Today he is planning to finish putting the wallpaper up on the feature wall. Once he is finished, David will take over, adding the furniture and decor that he has already been purchasing (There are a _lot_ of Wayfair boxes in their garage.), and the room should be ready for guests by next week. Patrick has already extended an invitation to Alexis, with the hope that she can make it in time for David’s birthday.

He’s halfway through wallpapering when he hears it. A soft scraping noise, like something sharp scratching against wood. At first, he thought _he_ was making the noise, but when he stops to pick up another roll of paper, he hears it again. Thinking it might be a critter, he circles the room, trying to find the source of the noise, but the sound seems to follow him. Aggravated, he stomps on the floorboards, hoping to scare away whatever it is. The noise stops, so he figures it must have worked. As he turns back toward the wall, he sees long, jagged scratches in the wallpaper he has put up, as though a large claw has scraped across his work. Shaken, he rips down the wallpaper and throws it in the trash can outside. 

Later, when David asks him if he’d finished wallpapering the room, he tells him that he ran out of paper and will finish next week. He doesn't, but David never asks again.

**~@~**

Alexis wasn’t able to make it for David’s birthday. David is crushed, but understanding, so Patrick and Alexis conspire to surprise David with a weekend trip to New York. David is thrilled, but his happiness is dampened when he discovers that Patrick isn't coming with him. Patrick promises that he will come with him next time, when they have a bit more time to plan, and they don’t have a vendor meeting that has already been rescheduled twice that one of them needs to attend to. The night before he is set to leave, David fucks Patrick enthusiastically against the kitchen counter, whispering that he wants Patrick to remember him every time he sits down. Patrick promises that no matter what, he will never forget him.

The first night David is gone, Patrick has trouble sleeping. He keeps hearing strange noises, and he hasn’t slept alone since the night before their wedding. He tosses and turns, and eventually gives up and goes for a pre-dawn run, before heading in to open the store.

The second night, Patrick is so tired that he falls asleep almost instantly. Sometime in the night, he wakes up to the sound of breathing in the room. Wondering why David is back so soon, he turns, only to find the other side of the bed empty. Patrick holds his breath and listens. It’s quiet for a moment, and then he hears it again. Terrified, Patrick bolts up and switches on the lamp next to his side of the bed. The room is empty but bone-chillingly cold. Trembling, Patrick gathers the comforter and leaves their bedroom, turning on every light along the way. He pauses briefly in front of the guest room. The door, which Patrick had still had propped open, was now tightly closed. He turns, and races down the stairs. He knows he won’t sleep anymore tonight, so he makes himself a cup of tea, and curls up on the sofa, waiting for dawn.

**~@~**

Patrick doesn’t tell David about the incidents. David loves this house and is so excited to host Christmas for his family and Patrick’s parents. It’s only July, and David is already ordering ornaments for a tree they won’t have for months. Patrick doesn’t have the heart to tell his husband that he hates it here.

The first time something happens with David in the house is in the middle of the night. David is fast asleep, snoring lightly now that he has turned onto his back. Patrick awakens to a weight on his chest. He struggles to move, but can’t seem to lift his arms or legs. He tries to call out to David, but nothing but a whisper of air emerges. He takes a shaky breath, and when he exhales, he can see his breath; small plumes of white against the inky black of the late night. He’s unbearably cold and is struggling to take in another breath. He can hear it breathing again, and knows it’s not David because his husband’s soft snores are off rhythm from the breathing. As the breathing gets louder, Patrick finds it harder to take in air. Tears stream down his face and he uses all of his strength to try and move. It’s fruitless. He’s paralyzed in place. The breathing has drowned out David’s snores. Patrick can no longer even tell if David is still there. He feels dizzy and nauseated. 

Suddenly, the weight is gone, and Patrick takes several deep breaths. He tries to muffle his sobs in the crook of his arm. He turns to see David, still asleep next to him. Patrick is freezing. He turns, and curls into David’s body. David wakes, only slightly, and turns toward Patrick. 

“Baby, your toes are so cold,” David complains, but falls back to sleep almost instantly. Patrick lays in David’s arms, wide awake and terrified for the rest of the night.

**~@~**

“You sure you want to go? You look exhausted, honey,” David runs his thumb under the soft skin of Patrick’s right eye. They have a rare weekend off together, and Patrick has booked them into one of the converted Rosebud Motels in Thornbridge. He’s looking forward to spending quality time with David but more than anything, he’s looking forward to leaving this house, even for two nights.

“Yes,” Patrick replies vehemently, his hand tightening on the strap of his overnight bag, “ Let’s go.”

**~@~**

Patrick feels grateful that whatever is in the house wants nothing to do with David. But David is becoming increasingly concerned about Patrick. Patrick slept for almost the entire time the two were in Thornbridge, and he was so lethargic on the day they left, David insisted on driving them home. Patrick slept the entire ride home, only waking up as they pulled into their driveway. In the two days since they have been back, the dark circles under Patrick’s eyes have returned, and he has become even more irritable. Patrick insists that he is fine, so David, at his wit’s end, decides to take him at his word. 

They aren’t fighting. It’s more that Patrick’s irritability has rubbed off on David, so when they go to bed that night, they are facing away from one another. 

At some point in the night, Patrick turns back toward David. He is in a strange half-asleep/half-awake state when he feels a large hand press on his back. Thinking it's David, he relaxes into the touch only to yelp when the touch becomes unbearably hot - no, not hot. _Cold._

Patrick bolts up, his breathing labored. David still has his back to Patrick. If it wasn’t David’s hand…then who, or _what_ was that?

Patrick can’t contain the sob that escapes this time. David, half-roused by Patrick’s sudden movement, sits up and flips on his light. Patrick is pale, his lips almost blue, and tears are streaming down his face.

“Patrick??”

Patrick collapses into David’s chest and lets out a wail borne of weeks of terror. Frightened beyond measure, David wraps his arms around his husband. David runs his hands up and down Patrick’s back, whispering words that Patrick can’t understand. When David’s hand runs over the spot where the...thing’s hand had been, Patrick feels pain, like a burn. He hisses and pulls back.

“Honey, what...what is going on?” David whispers, his voice shaky, his own tears running down his face.

“It...hurts,” Patrick rasps. His throat hurts from his outburst. David looks confused, so Patrick gestures toward his back. He turns slightly, and lets David lift his t-shirt.

“What...the fuck is this??” David sounds angry, and maybe a little terrified.

“What is it?” Patrick asks, afraid to know the answer, but needing to know what was hurting him so much.

“It’s like...a-a hand-shaped burn? How...Patrick how did this happen?”

“Oh my god,” Patrick pulls away from David, and stumbles off the bed. He walks toward the full-length mirror that sits next to the closet and lifts his shirt. He twists around and sees exactly what David described. A burn, in the shape of a large hand, on his lower back near his hip.

“How did you...when did that happen?” David still sounds angry and confused, but he looks more concerned than anything.

“It happened. Just now. It happened while we were...while we were asleep,” Patrick rasps. He can’t stop staring at the burn. How is this real? How is it leaving marks on his skin? It’s then that Patrick realizes that this thing, whatever it is, is escalating. And if they stay in this house, it’s going to kill him. 

“That’s...Patrick, that’s impossible. What are you talking about??”

So Patrick tells David everything. He starts with the teacups, and then the doors, and the wallpaper, and the scraping and breathing. He tells David about the thing that held him down one night while David was sleeping, and every night when David wasn’t here. He tells him everything he’s been trying to keep from David because he wanted David to be happy.

But when he looks at David, he sees someone who is anything but.

David looks exhausted. He looks sad, and worried, and terrified. He looks very, very _unhappy,_ and it breaks Patrick’s heart.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Before when the - when it started hurting you, why didn’t you tell me?”

“This is your dream house. You were so excited for Christmas and I -” Patrick pauses, and swallows thickly, “I thought I could handle it.”

They stand in silence for a moment, on opposite ends of their room. David is looking at Patrick, but Patrick can’t bear to see the disappointment on David’s face, so he stares at the ground.

“Patrick,” David finally whispers, “I love you, more than this house. More than anything. And we will not stay here if it is terrifying you like this.”

At David’s words, the house seemed to come to life. The bathroom mirror in their en suite explodes, as do the lights in the room. The doors of every room slam shut, and the sound of metal scraping on glass fills the air.

“What the FUCK!” David cries. He shoves his feet into his UGGS and grabs Patrick’s wrist. “We’re leaving, NOW.”

They quickly throw on jackets and grab cell phones and keys. Patrick slips on a pair of sneakers as David pries open the bedroom door. The house seems to be trembling with anger as they race down the stairs, David practically pulling Patrick by the hand. As they reach the front door, Patrick stops suddenly, and David is pulled back by the force of it.

Patrick sees it. Sees the thing, like a dark cloud, hovering over David’s head. He pries his hand out of David’s and steps back. He can hear David calling his name, but it sounds muted, almost like he’s underwater. He sees it move, away from David, and toward him. It hits him with a force that lifts him from the ground. He feels his back and head hit the entryway wall. He feels pain pulsing through his body. He feels something wrapping around his throat. David’s voice is fading, and the night is becoming darker. He feels colder than he has ever felt in his life.

And then he feels nothing at all.

**~@~**

**~@~**

**~@~**

David doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Sometimes Patrick would put on scary movies, as an excuse to curl into David. Not that he needed an excuse. They could barely keep their hands off of one another in those early days.

David can hardly believe that they get to live in this house. It is exactly the kind of romantic, cozy house he would have chosen for himself and Patrick. He starts sketching decor ideas almost immediately. Patrick humors him on most things, though he does draw the line at adding a jacuzzi tub into the en suite. (That is _way_ outside of our budget, David.)

Once they settle into their new routine with the additional business from Rosebud, Patrick agrees to get started on the guest bedroom. David knows that the kitchen will be a much more complicated project that will likely need to involve Ronnie, so he lets his husband ease himself into home projects with a relatively simple one, with the hope that the amount of work required will put him off wanting to take on the kitchen.

That’s when David started noticing strange things.

Patrick lied to him about the wallpaper, which was odd, but David decides to let it go. As the weeks go by, Patrick is tense and uneasy. David tries multiple things to get his husband to relax (mostly sex-related), but he only seems to get worse. David would wake several nights to find Patrick tossing and turning. David attributed this to the stress of home reno and dealing with a new, rather large mortgage.

Patrick’s strange behavior only escalated after their mini-break to Thornbridge. David started wondering if Patrick was irritated with _him_ specifically. He almost didn’t want to ask to find out.

David is at his wit’s end. Patrick is irritable, but won’t tell David why. They went to bed angry, something they never do. That night, Patrick wakes up screaming. David rouses him from his nightmare, and Patrick collapses into him, screaming and sobbing like nothing David had heard before and hopes he never, ever has to hear again. The memory of those cries still, at times, keeps him up at night.

When Patrick tells David about what has been happening, David thinks back through the timeline and realizes that all of it lines up with when Patrick started acting odd. His story sounds unbelievable, like the tales they would hear on the shows they used to watch together. But David can see the real terror in Patrick’s eyes. He knows his practical, serious-minded husband, and he knows that if this is what Patrick says is happening, then it must be true.

They decide to leave, and that’s when all hell breaks loose. David grabs his day bag and shoves in only essentials. He tries to open the bedroom door, but it sticks. He pulls and pulls, and finally, it gives way. They race down the stairs and are nearly to the door when Patrick suddenly stops. David turns to ask him what is wrong, but Patrick isn’t looking at him. He’s looking above him, at something that has drained all of the color out of his already pale face. Patrick pulls away from David, and David begins shouting for him, but it’s no use. Patrick stays frozen to his spot until suddenly, he’s lifted into the air and tossed like a rag doll against the entryway wall. David screams Patrick’s name, but his husband doesn’t move. As he approaches, he sees Patrick struggling to breathe. It’s like he’s being choked. Desperate, David screams “LEAVE HIM ALONE!” into the cold night air.

Suddenly, everything stops. David takes a deep breath. The air feels warmer, and the house is quiet. He scoops Patrick’s limp form up from the floor and races out of the house. 

**~@~**

Patrick is breathing, but he won’t wake up. David calls Stevie on the way to the motel. She arrives minutes after David and Patrick, and races into the office to find a room key. 

They are let into his parent’s old room. David lays Patrick on the bed and curls himself around him. Patrick feels cold to the touch, so David asks Stevie for every blanket she can spare. Stevie asks about a hospital, but David just needs a minute, just needs to warm Patrick up again.

It’s just after dawn when Patrick finally opens his eyes.

**~@~**

Patrick is admitted to the hospital, and diagnosed with a mild concussion and three broken ribs. He also has mild damage to his windpipe, his neck mottled with black and violet bruises. He doesn’t remember much about that night, which David is grateful for.

The day before Patrick is set to be released from the hospital, David visits Ray to ask him to help put the house up for sale. 

“You know, David, I was quite surprised when you and Patrick decided to purchase that old house,” Ray states with his usual amount of cheerfulness.

“You were, why?” David asks curiously.

“Well, nobody has lived in that house for decades. The couple who owned it died in 1991, and several families tried to live there, but they never stayed long.”

“But...Patrick talked to the owners. That’s...that’s how we got the house?” David feels a chill run down his spine.

“I don’t know who you talked to; that house is so run down, it’s hardly liveable. I assumed you and Patrick would continue to stay at his apartment until you could have the house renovated.”

**~@~**

That afternoon, David decides to arrange to have his and Patrick’s valuables moved out of the house. He refuses to enter the house again but decides he needs to see it in daylight. Something about what Ray told him was nagging at him.

When he pulls into the drive, he sees a house in complete disrepair; a shell of the house David and Patrick saw all those years ago. With the veil lifted, David can now see that the house was in no condition to be lived in. Curious, he looks down at his ring of keys. The house key, a shiny, gold, square key that David had been so excited to add to his keyring, is missing. In its place is a familiar key - the one that opens Patrick’s apartment. Shaking his head, he backs out of the drive and leaves the house behind.

A year later, when Patrick and David finally decide to buy a house again, it's brand new, move-in ready, and miles away from the cottage that still haunts them.


End file.
